Overview & Reviews

Acura is an upscale automaker known for offering cars with impressive levels of luxury, features and performance. It's come a long way in a short time, however, as the history of Acura is relatively brief. Parent company Honda introduced the Acura brand to the U.S. market in 1986 in an effort to create a separate luxury division for its products. At first, it was just a two-car show: the Legend sedan, which was the first true Japanese luxury car sold in America, and the Integra sport coupe and sedan.

Though essentially a marketing creation for the North American market, the Acura brand was immediately successful. Consumers liked the features, performance and upscale image of Acura cars, along with the fact that Acuras were backed by Honda's reputation for reliability and low ownership costs. In 1991, Acura introduced its crown jewel: the all-aluminum NSX sports car, which offered performance close to that of other exotic cars while undercutting them in price.

As Acura's product line grew in the 1990s, however, the company struggled a bit. Some of its products were duds, and it risked alienating loyal customers when it replaced the Legend and Integra names with alphanumeric designations. The company jumped on the hot luxury SUV bandwagon in the mid-'90s with the SLX. Unfortunately, the SLX was just a rebadged version of an Isuzu SUV, and its quality did not match customers' expectations.

For the new millennium, Acura revamped its product range. An all-new SUV called the MDX debuted, sporting numerous family-friendly features, including a third-row seat. The Integra was replaced with the RSX sport coupe, and an all-new entry-level sport sedan called the TSX was introduced after that. A complete redesign of its most popular model, the midsize TL sedan, followed, as did a redesign of its flagship RL luxury sedan.

By mid-decade the NSX was gone, but Acura filled out its model lineup with the street-performance-oriented RDX compact crossover, the TSX wagon and the ZDX, a fastback-styled crossover that placed unique styling over practicality. Today Acura is still trying to find its ideal niche but there's no denying the quality of Acura's vehicles, nor their appealing mix of performance, technology and value.

User Reviews:

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  Incredible Sport/Lux Value - 2008 Acura TL
  By Glenn - June 28 - 12:20 pm

  This is my first Acura and I am impressed. I especially like the exterior styling. I cant walk away from the car without looking back at it. The interior is well designed and has the look of understated elegance. The extra benefit so far has been the incredible highway mileage. I have been experiencing 32-34 mpg on our long TX highways traveling between 70 and 80 mpg. This was better than I expected and much appreciated in a car this size. Also, I was not a audiophile until i bought this car. Excellent CD/XM experience. I recently compared TL to the BMW5, MBE, Lexus ES and VolvoS80. Surprisingly the TL has the same proportions as all with lower total costs. Reliability & VAlue!!

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  New MDX - 2003 Acura MDX
  By mry - June 28 - 10:00 am

  Had a Jeep for 7 years, loved the Cadilliac EXT, but too expensive. Volvo was not helpful at all and too expensive to wait 3 months for XC90. Plus didnt have the power of MDX. Acura of Memphis was great and they really sold the car on their personality and willing to work with me on the trade-in. MDX had all the features I wanted and definitely moves when you step on the gas. I have only heard good things about the Acura service in Memphis, and most everyone loves their MDX. Felt the price was great for all the features we were getting, good crash test ratings and didnt have to do the a la carte menu like Volvo or Lexus [GX or Lx series]

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  2008 Acura TL Type S - 2008 Acura TL
  By Bill - June 27 - 11:58 pm

  Car is beautiful in black with factory chrome wheels and all optional body ground effects. VeRy fast, with paddle shifters (fun). I have 40 series tires which ride very harsh. Gas mileage is great on highway 28-30 and around 17-20 local. Car handles great and audio system is outstanding. Many voice operated controls that take time to learn, but worth it! Bluetooth phone system is outstanding.

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  Just an excellent vehicle!!!! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Ron - June 26 - 4:57 pm

  This has been a great vehicle, never had any issues with normal maintenance in 65000 miles.

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  Extremely Happy! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By amora14 - June 26 - 3:55 pm

  I purchased the Acura TSX a week ago, my prior car was the Ford Focus. I was going to get the Fusion but I wanted a car that could stand alone. I decided to go with the 2005 model because it had most everything the o8 had in it for almost half the price. The navigation system is awesome. I love to drive the car at night and night time use to be what I would dread. The car handles well around corners and when I come to a stop it so smooth! I did not realize Acura held the prestige in this car that it does. Excellent vehicle!

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  One Terrific Small SUV - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Tom from New Jersey - June 26 - 12:13 pm

  I wanted a small but very luxious SUV and the Acura RDX is the answer. Ive owned my RDX for two weeks and I couldnt be happier. I was a little skeptical of going back to a 4 cylinder engine (even though I had owned many 4 cylinder cars in the past) since many newer small SUVs have 6s in them. However, so far I am thrilled with the performance. I have 450 miles on the car and have been averaging better than 22 miles per gallon. The quality of construction and interior cockpit materials are top notch. I highly recommend this car if you want a superior small SUV with far more in the way of goodies (I have the technology package) than the BMW X-3 for about $4000 less in price.

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  " Catch a 17 before there gone" - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Tom - June 26 - 2:39 am

  I did extensive research on smaller/midsize SUVs. I concluded the Audi Q5 and BMW 3 were not much better, seemed smaller, although specs dont back that up, and simply not worth the added cost. It came down to the Ford Edge Titanium with301 package with V6 in white and RDX with Advance Package. Liked the extra cargo space of the Edge and thought it was a very quiet comfortable ride. The bottom line negatives were poor Ford resale value versus the RDX, the lower gas mileage with the V6, the Sony sound system and "slightly" less interior quality. When Acura announced 2017 clearance prices last month, I was able to get one for the same price as the loaded Edge. I have driven now for 3 weeks and I am very satisfied with my decision. The infotainment system is a little hard to get used to but I am finding that the overall technology used in the Acura is really quite amazing. The engine does not hesitate like the Edge V6 also. Get the great price on 17s right now!

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  Bulletproof 99 CL 3.0 - 1999 Acura CL
  By azavocat - June 25 - 5:50 pm

  Bought this car new and its been bulletproof ever since. Nothing but routine maintenance. The ride, handling and craftsmanship are excellent. Similar to my NSX, when that VTEC opens up it delivers a surprising amount of power.

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  LOVE my MDX - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Acumom - June 25 - 11:20 am

  Driving is fun again. Once you go Acura, you wont go Back-ura!

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  TL 16K Update - 2005 Acura TL
  By jamrock66 - June 25 - 7:26 am

  My earlier review was scored 7.6 at 700 miles with my low scores in the comfort (passenger seats), fuel economy (23MPG Avg. on a 60 mile RT commute), and performance (compared to Infiniti G35) arenas. At 16K, rear seat comfort for my skinny 12 year old is still an issue. Same 23MPG. My scores on safety/performance is up to a 10! Several close calls in the city & on the highways in Atl, GA and the car responded predictably and confidently. I am beginning to hear interior rattles to be addressed by dealer). Had 2 Maintenance minders for service in 16K!! Both for oil/filter and 1 tire rot.. Tire wear is excellent. Reliability is a 10. Some noticeable wrinkling of leather seats (espec. driver).